Heal the wound...

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Okay, back to our regularly scheduled programming... but aren't side-trips just so much fun! The Lord has truly stretched me in so many areas of life, but one of the most prominent has been learning to be flexible. You'd think motherhood would cure me of my agenda seeking, planned, and structured mind-set, but sadly enough, Mommy just gets more determined to stay on course. Luckily, I've learned, veering off-course, not only gives me wonderful new scenery, but helps me see His way, which is usually 100 times better than my pitiful plan. How much have I missed out on for so long? I now know (and have to remind myself) that I would have missed out on the blessing of this better plan had I held onto the reigns and stubbornly plowed ahead with my plan irregardless. Ironically enough, it's less stressful, less-worrisome, and just plain more fun to let someone else be in control.

If I had my way, I would have plugged along with this six part series, start-to-finish, and held off on other posts until "later". The problem with this is (just as with scrapbooking), I miss out on the thoughts and feelings of the moment as more time passes and my mind gets filled with other things. (Is this why we take so many pictures, trying to capture moments of time?) Yes, life does seem to interrupt my thoughts, yet when I look at it, that's the most beautiful part of it all. It's not a bad thing to have a desire to see something through to completion start-to-finish, but if that's the only things I focus on, I tend to be left with frustration and exhaustion, energy spent just spinning my wheels. Let's spend some productive energy today.

Today, we're going to take a look at the helmet of salvation. Ephesians 6:17 states

Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God.

Let's focus on the first today, and we'll round out the second one tomorrow (unless otherwise interrupted :) What struck me just as I was typing this was that very first word - take. In a similar fashion to verse 16, God calls us to take up the shield of faith.He is more than willing to give, but we need to take, or receive.The notes in my study bible state, "The helmet protected the soldier and, under certain circumstances, helmets provide a striking symbol of military victory."

So, we can protect our heads (minds) in victory with our salvation. What is salvation? Using biblegateway.com, I found this definition, "This word is used of the deliverance of the Israelites from the Egyptians (Ex. 14:13), and of deliverance generally from evil or danger. In the New Testament it is specially used with reference to the great deliverance from the guilt and the pollution of sin wrought out by Jesus Christ, "the great salvation" (Heb. 2:3)

I also found some other verses that give us a greater picture of this concept of salvation:

Exodus 15:2The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him.

2 Samuel 22:3my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior— from violent men you save me.

Psalm 18:2The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

Psalm 27:1[ Of David. ] The LORD is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid?

Psalm 28:8The LORD is the strength of his people, a fortress of salvation for his anointed one.

Psalm 51:12Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

I love that we can walk in victory, in the joy of our salvation. We can be victorious (and that's not what the devil wants us to know!). We can be confidently confident in this. Wherever life finds us today, we can know, the battle has already been won. Let's pick up our helmets, protect our minds, and let not the joy be stolen away from this day, the Lord has given us.

This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24

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About Me

Heather Conrad

I'm just a Mom who feels privileged to have an opportunity to serve and to pour into the lives of my amazing husband Aaron, and our three precious blessings. Our son Austin is 9, loves basketball and has such a tender and big-brother-protective heart. Our daughter Emma is 7 and has a spirit as big as her heart, hard to contain all that creativity inside. Brynn is our 5 year old. Don't let her little frame fool you, she is a spunky gal, keeps us all laughing. If there is a spare moment in the day, you'll either catch me with a book, or hitting the streets on a jog with Jesus.

The Family

Life Verse:

12Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.-Philippians 3:12-14